JEDDAH: The Girls' Education Administration in Jeddah has banned all school religious activities that do not have the express permission of the relevant authorities, Al-Hayat Arabic daily said Sunday The move is reportedly to counter the support and collection of donations for “deviant ideology” – a euphemism used for extremists and terrorist group ideology – and to ensure that any female preachers active in girls' schools are properly qualified and not engaging in “mere personal interpretations”. According to a copy of a missive from the Administration and seen by Al-Hayat, concerns were expressed that “female supporters of the deviant ideology might use schools as platforms to plant their ideology in their audiences”. The missive warned both public and private schools against organizing any religious activities such as lectures or symposiums, “unless having obtained permission from the Islamic Awareness Administration and approval from the Makkah Emir's Office”. School lectures, the circular said, may only be given by women supervisors from the Islamic Awareness Administration, as per orders from Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and a circular issued by the Emir of Makkah Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. The instructions also bar unauthorized collections of donations. Khadija Shafa'i, the head of the Islamic Awareness Administration at Jeddah Girls' Education Administration, said the move was to counter “unqualified women preachers who have not acquired permission to preach from the relevant authorities”. “Their collecting of donations goes against instructions and is in violation of approved regulations,” she said. “This makes them something of a loose cannon based merely on personal interpretations. Their ideological tendencies are not known, and that might lead to these platforms being exploited by supporters of deviant ideology to implant it in the minds of their audiences - particularly in schools where girls have yet to form a complete intellectual picture - and support deviant groups with money collected in these ways.” Earlier this year the Makkah Emir's Office voiced concerns over activities in female preacher circles, and in July issued a circular expressing the wish to regulate the area, particularly at schools and universities for females.
